Wednesday, May 24, 2017

Hungry Yakuza

A sign of hard times for the mob as yakuza caught stealing food

Life as a yakuza mobster is getting so hard that some are resorting to shoplifting food.

Two members of an organized crime gang were arrested for allegedly
trying to steal grocery items worth ¥76,120 ($683) at a mall in Nagoya,
police said on Wednesday.

“They are members of an affiliated gang group of the Kobe
Yamaguchi-gumi,” a police spokesman said, referring to an organization
that split off from the biggest yakuza crime syndicate, Yamaguchi-gumi,
in 2015.

The gangsters, aged 52 and 59, reportedly tried to steal 198 items
including a watermelon, rice, eel and prepared dishes, in the company of
their gang boss, the Asahi and Mainichi dailies reported.

One of the men told police that “the group is so poor” members have to steal food, the Mainichi said.

The yakuza blossomed from the chaos of post-war Japan into
multibillion-dollar criminal organizations involved in everything from
gambling, drugs and prostitution to loan-sharking, protection rackets
and white-collar crime.

They were long tolerated as a necessary evil for ensuring order on
the streets and getting things done quickly — however dubious the means.

Unlike the Italian Mafia or Chinese triads in other countries, yakuza
have long occupied a peculiar gray area in Japanese society — they are
not illegal and each group has its own headquarters in full view of
police.

But waning social tolerance, a weak economy and steadily falling memberships have hurt their bottom line.

Stiffer anti-gang regulations are also making life a struggle as
regular businesses are banned from dealing with mobsters, who struggle
to even open a bank account or receive mail at their office.

Such factors have been cited as contributing to the high-profile split of the Yamaguchi-gumi.

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This is a blog about what interests me. Here you will find stories on animals, including animal rights material, cute stuff, and random informative posts about weird, beautiful and interesting creatures. Horses, Spotted Hyenas, and Border Collies will make regular appearances.
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